Trailblazers threaten to sue the rest of the NBA (or, call the WAAAAmbulance)

[Toddzilla]

From http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3822911

It seems that Memphis is considering re-signing Daruis Miles after cutting him earlier this year to avoid paying the rest of his contract.

The hook? If Miles plays 2 more games this season, the Trailblazers are on the hook for the rest of said contract - to the tune of $18 Million, which also puts Portland over the cap.

So, the Trailblazers have sent a letter to the rest of the NBA threatening legal action if any team signs Miles with the intent of forcing Portland to pay the money owed on the contract.

My take? Tough Shit, Trailblazers. They signed the contract with Miles under the current collective bargaining agreement, so they have to live up to the terms of the contract. The purpose of the NBA is for teams to compete, so why wouldn't another team do something to put another team at a competitive disadvantage, especially one done easily and within the rules?

I hope Memphis signs Miles and cuts him after the two games as a nice big F.U. to Portland.

[Toddzilla]

From this article on the WWL (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3822911)

It seems that Memphis is considering re-signing Daruis Miles after cutting him earlier this year to avoid paying the rest of his contract.

The hook? If Miles plays 2 more games this season, the Trailblazers are on the hook for the rest of said contract - to the tune of $18 Million, which also puts Portland over the cap.

So, the Trailblazers have sent a letter to the rest of the NBA threatening legal action if any team signs Miles with the intent of forcing Portland to pay the money owed on the contract.

My take? Tough Shit, Trailblazers. They signed the contract with Miles under the current collective bargaining agreement, so they have to live up to the terms of the contract. The purpose of the NBA is for teams to compete, so why wouldn't another team do something to put another team at a competitive disadvantage, especially one done easily and within the rules?

I hope Memphis signs Miles and cuts him after the two games as a nice big F.U. to Portland.

[wade moore]

This screams of some FOF MP Drama that has happened in the past.

[Mustang]

In a multiplayer text sim, Miles would have been signed 2 minutes after he was released just to screw the other owner.

[Eaglesfan27]

It's an odd rule. I thought the Trailblazers had to pay his contract regardless of whether he signed with another team. Can anyone tell me why they don't already have to pay his contract?

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

They are paying him either way, but right now it doesn't cost against their cap, which means they are under the luxury tax threshold.

EDIT: This is because his injury was judged to be "career-ending." The league provides cap relief in this case, but obviously if his career goes on they will revoke that relief.

[molson]

Miles should sue the Blazers for sabotaging his career.

I'm glad there's some kind of relief for "career ending injuries". Is that new? I seem to remember Reggie Lewis costing the Celtics cap money for two years when he was dead.

[gstelmack]

My take is that the NBA has a stupid set of collective rules that have GOT to be thrown out. Seriously, any contract under which another team re-signing a player after having cut him once means some OTHER team is on the hook for $18 million is ludicrous, and just one more reason why the NBA has trouble keeping fans...

[wade moore]

I don't disagree with you greg, but in the end the Trailblazers agreed to this collective set of rules so suing is just assinine.

[Autumn]

So, if Memphis had kept him for two more games earlier this year Portland would have had to pay the $18 million?

[miami_fan]

It's an odd rule. I thought the Trailblazers had to pay his contract regardless of whether he signed with another team. Can anyone tell me why they don't already have to pay his contract?

I don't think the issue is him getting paid. I believe he will still get paid his money regardless. The Blazers don't want the salary to count against its cap. Remember, an independent doctor decided he was not medically capable of playing so the Blazers get a cap break. If Miles is truly able to play, then the Blazers get the hit and has to pay the tax

[Warhammer]

Yep. This thread is totally better than that other thread.

[SackAttack]

The issue isn't him getting signed.

He has to actually play two more games. What I don't know is if suiting up and sitting on the bench qualifies, if going in for one series qualifies, or if he has to play a certain number of minutes.

[samifan24]

I hope he signs somewhere and plays those two games. The Blazers signed him to that contract. Who are they to tell the rest of the league what to do? If I were a Blazers rival, I would totally sign him and let him play just to screw Portland. It's Portland problem, not my team's problem.

[gstelmack]

The Blazers signed him to a contract, he had a major injury, it was deemed career threatening (by an independent doctor), and so he left unable to play anymore. That has cap implications.

If he can play now, shouldn't he be back with the Blazers?

[miami_fan]

The Blazers signed him to a contract, he had a major injury, it was deemed career threatening (by an independent doctor), and so he left unable to play anymore. That has cap implications.

If he can play now, shouldn't he be back with the Blazers?

He was released by the Blazers.

[miami_fan]

Miles should sue the Blazers for sabotaging his career.

I'm glad there's some kind of relief for "career ending injuries". Is that new? I seem to remember Reggie Lewis costing the Celtics cap money for two years when he was dead.

How exactly are they sabotaging his career?

Is this about getting a player who ill improve a team like Memphis or is this about making the Blazers pay the luxury tax? Especially given the player we are talk about. Darius Miles is more likely to "retire" after those two games than Memphis cutting him.

[molson]

How exactly are they sabotaging his career?



They're threatening anyone who signs him with legal action.

It's not like he had a leg amputated. The Celtics brought him in in the pre-season and he played a bunch of games. He was trying to make the team. He's trying to play.

It's clearly not a "career-ending" injury. The blazers lose.

[Lathum]

They signed him to the contract so IMO tough shit on them.

[SackAttack]

They're threatening anyone who signs him with legal action.

Not quite.

“The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions. Such conduct by a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers contract rights and perspective economic opportunities.”

Basically they're saying "If you sign him, play him two games, and then cut him, we reserve the right to sue you."

Signing him, in and of itself, is not a problem. Signing him and playing him the rest of the season would not be a problem. Be awful hard to prove malicious intent in court on that kind of signing anyway.

They're talking very specifically about a case where Miles would be signed and played just enough to trigger the cap/tax stuff.

[DeToxRox]

This is even better then Kevin Lowe pissing people off by signing RFA's in the NHL to absurd contracts that other teams are hard pressed to match.

[SackAttack]

Also...

“The point that everybody is missing is that this isn’t about Portland’s salary cap. It’s about whether this guy [Miles] is healthy enough to play or not,” said an Eastern Conference executive. “He obviously is healthy enough to play. It doesn’t matter how good he plays. He can still play, and they said he couldn’t.

Really? It doesn't matter how good he plays? Does that mean my slow, fat white ass can get an NBA job, since it doesn't matter how GOOD I can play, as long as I CAN play?

[molson]

Not quite.

Basically they're saying "If you sign him, play him two games, and then cut him, we reserve the right to sue you."

Signing him, in and of itself, is not a problem. Signing him and playing him the rest of the season would not be a problem. Be awful hard to prove malicious intent in court on that kind of signing anyway.

They're talking very specifically about a case where Miles would be signed and played just enough to trigger the cap/tax stuff.

Not quite

Any team that signs him is stuck with this threat. What if a team only wants him for the 10 days to cover an injury (that's the purpose of the 10 day contract). What if a team only needs him for 20 days? What if after a few weeks, they see he's not a good fit and they want to go another direction?

It makes him less desirable to potential teams. If a team signs him, they better be able to justify why they cut him. Exactly like you said, "signing him and playing him the rest of the season would not be a problem." There's plenty of comparable guys out there that a team doesn't have to make that kind of commitment for.

Not that the blazers would necessarily win any such lawsuit, but that's what they're threatening.

[molson]

Also...

Really? It doesn't matter how good he plays? Does that mean my slow, fat white ass can get an NBA job, since it doesn't matter how GOOD I can play, as long as I CAN play?

He means that the only question is whether Miles can pay, in terms of this whole issue.

If he can play - he should count against Portland's cap.

If he can't play - Portland is entitled to cap relief.

The mechanism the NBA has chosen to use to determine which of the these things takes effect is two-fold. You "can't play" if an independent doctor says you can't, AND you play 10 games.

They got the doctor part, but he's about to play his 10th game.

And aside from that, Miles himself clearly doesn't think this is a career-ending injury.

[Logan]

I was looking forward to this being a thread here.

Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert thought it was a pretty stupid way to go about handling it. From Yahoo:

“With all due respect…although the Cleveland Cavaliers have no interest in signing Darius Miles and will not be signing Darius Miles,” Gilbert wrote, “I find your email quite peculiar from two standpoints:

“1. It’s dead wrong. I believe that all 30 NBA teams were and are fully aware of the terms and provisions of the collective bargaining agreement as to which all teams and the NBA are a party to, including the Portland Trailblazers.

“2. Are legal threats through a mass email the best way to circumvent the known potential consequences that could result from the Trailblazers decisions and actions they took with respect to Darius Miles?

“I fully understand the frustration you and your team’s ownership must be feeling in regards to this situation, but a preemptive threat of ‘litigation’ directed at all of your partners through a group email does not sit well with me and seems to be incongruent with the spirit of keeping a ‘fiduciary duty’ and good ‘partner-like duty’ to your ‘NBA joint venturers.’

“I would think there has got to be a better tactic than this one.”

Cavs owner upset with Blazers' threat - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-gilbertresponse010909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)

[Icy]

I consider finances handling as part of the sport competition, as is the draft, etc, so i would sign him to make the other team have those cap troubles.

[Crim]

“With all due respect…although the Cleveland Cavaliers have no interest in signing Darius Miles and will not be signing Darius Miles,” Gilbert wrote, “I find your email quite peculiar from two standpoints:

“1. It’s dead wrong. I believe that all 30 NBA teams were and are fully aware of the terms and provisions of the collective bargaining agreement as to which all teams and the NBA are a party to, including the Portland Trailblazers.

“2. Are legal threats through a mass email the best way to circumvent the known potential consequences that could result from the Trailblazers decisions and actions they took with respect to Darius Miles?

“I fully understand the frustration you and your team’s ownership must be feeling in regards to this situation, but a preemptive threat of ‘litigation’ directed at all of your partners through a group email does not sit well with me and seems to be incongruent with the spirit of keeping a ‘fiduciary duty’ and good ‘partner-like duty’ to your ‘NBA joint venturers.’

“I would think there has got to be a better tactic than this one.”

I agree with everything in this email, except for the bolded part. Drives me bugshit. With regard, not in regards, assholes!

There's a talk radio guy here in town who insists on saying in regards at least once or twice per segment. I want to kill him.

[Crim]

Oh, and with regard to the cap hit situation, I think Portland is on very shaky ground, threatening to litigate like that. Does Miles have a case that Portland is attempting to collude to deny him livelihood? I don't know about stuff like this, but it seems so to me.

[Chief Rum]

Man, you guys are missing the best part.

I believe the one year league minimum for a player of Miles' experience is about $700K or $800 K, if I what I found online is right. Meaning that signing him to a 10-day contract at the league min is about $100K (10/82 of salary).

If Miles plays his second game, and the Blazers' contract comes back, Portland goes significantly over the luxury tax, adding millions to what they have to pay currently (Miles' old contract, as noted, is being paid; it just doesn't count against the cap or the luxury tax) with the luxury tax penalty.

That luxury tax penalty is distributed evenly to the other teams in the league. The estimate I heard on the radio yesterday is each team would receive about $250K.

In other words, by signing Miles to a 10-day contract, a team can actually make a profit! ($250K > $100K)

[SackAttack]

Man, you guys are missing the best part.

I believe the one year league minimum for a player of Miles' experience is about $700K or $800 K, if I what I found online is right. Meaning that signing him to a 10-day contract at the league min is about $100K (10/82 of salary).

If Miles plays his second game, and the Blazers' contract comes back, Portland goes significantly over the luxury tax, adding millions to what they have to pay currently (Miles' old contract, as noted, is being paid; it just doesn't count against the cap or the luxury tax) with the luxury tax penalty.

That luxury tax penalty is distributed evenly to the other teams in the league. The estimate I heard on the radio yesterday is each team would receive about $250K.

In other words, by signing Miles to a 10-day contract, a team can actually make a profit! ($250K > $100K)

Shoot, are we even sure they have to pay 1/8th? 10 days != 10 games. Never seen an NBA team play on ten straight nights, for sure.

[Chief Rum]

Shoot, are we even sure they have to pay 1/8th? 10 days != 10 games. Never seen an NBA team play on ten straight nights, for sure.

lol...good point.

[Sgran]

Lots of teams get screwed by players getting injured and they don't get a free pass.

[Logan]

I agree with everything in this email, except for the bolded part. Drives me bugshit. With regard, not in regards, assholes!

There's a talk radio guy here in town who insists on saying in regards at least once or twice per segment. I want to kill him.

After some google results including this (http://www.englishforums.com/English/InRegardsToWithRegardTo/cxdxc/post.htm), it looks like your issue is the plural being used, not with/in as those are interchangeable.

Paul Allen is an ass.

[Shkspr]

What would be wonderful would be if someone like Mark Cuban signed Miles not only to play for just two games, but specifically signed him to play in the two games his team has remaining against the Blazers (Feb 4 and March 11).

How about this idea: sign Miles and let him play a game, and then call Portland and offer to cut him before the second game in exchange for a first round pick.

[MylesKnight]

I would think David Stern would get involved here and tell the TB Brass to basically keep their mouths shut.

What a ridiculously bad precedent this would set.

[stevew]

I think a 10 day contract pays roughly 30K. Also not every team gets luxury dispersement so it could be more like 330k plus.

[Anthony]

i would totally sign Miles to screw the Blazers because:

1. there are like 28 other teams to deal with. if the Blazers permantly banned my team then i'd have other options. big whoop.

2. the Blazers play in Oregon. enough said. who cares about what anyone from Oregon thinks? if Canada ever came to us and said "we're thinking about purchasing Oregon from you" our answer would be "we're listening...". this team hasn't been relevant since the last time Clyde Drexler dunked a ball while in their uniform.

screw the Blazers. give 'em cap hell and they'll be one less team to worry about.

[SackAttack]

i would totally sign Miles to screw the Blazers because:

1. there are like 28 other teams to deal with. if the Blazers permantly banned my team then i'd have other options. big whoop.

2. the Blazers play in Oregon. enough said. who cares about what anyone from Oregon thinks? if Canada ever came to us and said "we're thinking about purchasing Oregon from you" our answer would be "we're listening...". this team hasn't been relevant since the last time Clyde Drexler dunked a ball while in their uniform.

screw the Blazers. give 'em cap hell and they'll be one less team to worry about.

Cool. So what if this kinda thing were poised to happen to the Knicks when they were getting set to go nuts on free agents in 2010 and they couldn't make an offer to King James, say?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Cool. So what if this kinda thing were poised to happen to the Knicks when they were getting set to go nuts on free agents in 2010 and they couldn't make an offer to King James, say?

But isn't any team dumb enough to put themselves in this position pretty much subject to whatever they have happen to them? If the guy can still physically play (and that was pretty much proven by him appearing in games already) then they ought to be stuck with his cap penalty since they signed the contract.

I mean, if it were my team I'd hope that no one would pick him up & leave me stuck but ultimately how could anyone not shake their head and say "nobody but ourselves to blame on this one"?

[Anthony]

if the Knicks offered someone a contract then there's no one to blame but themselves. i could very easily see this happening with like Eddie Curry or Jerome James.

personally i don't like the fact that some team is gonna make out big having Marbury on their team for pennies on the dollar while the Knicks are gonna have to put salt and pepper on his contract and eat it. if i were them i'd take a "if we're not gonna get anything in return out of this, no one is gonna get anything out of this" approach. this coming from the team that is still paying Isaiah Thomas to be locked in a dungeon like that guy who wanted his stapler in Office Space.

besides, i don't want LBJ in NY. he's not gonna bring us a championship. but the 2 guys out of the big 3 FA's we get (Wade and Bosh) certainly will make things very interesting. becomes a question of do we want to watch the Knicks lose in the 1st round every year with the best player in the game or do we want to compete for the championship every year with 2 of the top 10 players in the game? if LBJ was good enough to win a championship he'd have done it by now. he's had a good 2 years of being one of the best 2 players in the league. in my book he's not the end-all, be-all. let him rot in that midwestern cesspool in Ohio that no one cares about.

[Neon_Chaos]

Grizzlies ignore threat, sign Darius Miles - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AgKmY00_xF6xb0c8BIbcy5K8vLYF?slug=ap-trailblazers-miles&prov=ap&type=lgns)

Yay!

[Critch]

What would be wonderful would be if someone like Mark Cuban signed Miles not only to play for just two games, but specifically signed him to play in the two games his team has remaining against the Blazers (Feb 4 and March 11).

That would give the Blazers the chance to really end his career in the Feb 4th game and save themselves all that cash. Sounds fair.

[samifan24]

Grizzlies ignore threat, sign Darius Miles - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AgKmY00_xF6xb0c8BIbcy5K8vLYF?slug=ap-trailblazers-miles&prov=ap&type=lgns)

Good for them. Take that, Portland!

[MylesKnight]

I suppose this takes all thoughts of one of the TB's rivals trying to purposely hurt the franchise away. Memphis is going nowhere and will have no impact on the Western Conference whatsoever for at least the next handful of seasons.

[Logan]

if LBJ was good enough to win a championship he'd have done it by now.

Care to give him about 6 more months?

[Anthony]

Celtics will go to the Finals again, and this time may lose to the Lakers. even if the Cavs go to the Finals the Lakers would dominate the Cavs. i'm not gonna say LBJ never wins a championship, i think he'll be more like Chamberlain: all-world player who didn't have as many rings (just 2) to show for his dominance as many would believe such a player would get. heck, even Oscar Robertson, one of the most dominant players of his era and one of the top 10 best players to ever play the game, has zero rings.

[SackAttack]

But isn't any team dumb enough to put themselves in this position pretty much subject to whatever they have happen to them? If the guy can still physically play (and that was pretty much proven by him appearing in games already) then they ought to be stuck with his cap penalty since they signed the contract.

I mean, if it were my team I'd hope that no one would pick him up & leave me stuck but ultimately how could anyone not shake their head and say "nobody but ourselves to blame on this one"?

Oh, I agree. I'm referring to Anthony's hope that someone deliberately screws the Blazers. Askin' how he'd feel if it were the Knicks involved.

if the Knicks offered someone a contract then there's no one to blame but themselves. i could very easily see this happening with like Eddie Curry or Jerome James.

personally i don't like the fact that some team is gonna make out big having Marbury on their team for pennies on the dollar while the Knicks are gonna have to put salt and pepper on his contract and eat it. if i were them i'd take a "if we're not gonna get anything in return out of this, no one is gonna get anything out of this" approach. this coming from the team that is still paying Isaiah Thomas to be locked in a dungeon like that guy who wanted his stapler in Office Space.

besides, i don't want LBJ in NY. he's not gonna bring us a championship. but the 2 guys out of the big 3 FA's we get (Wade and Bosh) certainly will make things very interesting. becomes a question of do we want to watch the Knicks lose in the 1st round every year with the best player in the game or do we want to compete for the championship every year with 2 of the top 10 players in the game? if LBJ was good enough to win a championship he'd have done it by now. he's had a good 2 years of being one of the best 2 players in the league. in my book he's not the end-all, be-all. let him rot in that midwestern cesspool in Ohio that no one cares about.

If it pushed 'em over the cap, they wouldn't likely be able to go after Wade or Bosh either, would they? Pick whichever name is your drool-worthy target. If the Knicks spent all this time preparing for 2010, and then found themselves in this potential situation, would you be okay with fans of another team hoping and wishing that somebody deliberately put the screws to the Knicks?

Or is the action okay, but not the sentiment behind the action? Honest curiosity.

[SackAttack]

Celtics will go to the Finals again, and this time may lose to the Lakers. even if the Cavs go to the Finals the Lakers would dominate the Cavs. i'm not gonna say LBJ never wins a championship, i think he'll be more like Chamberlain: all-world player who didn't have as many rings (just 2) to show for his dominance as many would believe such a player would get. heck, even Oscar Robertson, one of the most dominant players of his era and one of the top 10 best players to ever play the game, has zero rings.

If I recall, LBJ just got finished schooling the Celtics. Unless this is some kind of a min/max thing, what makes you so sure that the Celtics won't be in trouble again come May?

[Logan]

Oh, I agree. I'm referring to Anthony's hope that someone deliberately screws the Blazers. Askin' how he'd feel if it were the Knicks involved.

I thought he answered that:

if the Knicks offered someone a contract then there's no one to blame but themselves

If someone deliberately screwed the Knicks, and the only reason they were in that situation is because of a contract they willfully gave out, no way would I have a problem with it. They made their bed, and if it cost the team their entire future FA haul, so be it.

To be fair, the only reason this scenario exists is because the league allowed the Blazers to declare Miles' injury to be career-ending, when it's obviously not. So they have about three strikes going against them by my count (the 3rd being that if he had no injury at all, he would still be on their cap for the full amount).

[DaddyTorgo]

but if the league signs off on his injury being a CEI then don't they bear some of the responsibility too? maybe idk how it works, but if they sign the paperwork certifying it then they're saying it's true...

[miami_fan]

I thought he answered that:



If someone deliberately screwed the Knicks, and the only reason they were in that situation is because of a contract they willfully gave out, no way would I have a problem with it. They made their bed, and if it cost the team their entire future FA haul, so be it.

To be fair, the only reason this scenario exists is because the league allowed the Blazers to declare Miles' injury to be career-ending, when it's obviously not. So they have about three strikes going against them by my count (the 3rd being that if he had no injury at all, he would still be on their cap for the full amount).

Didn't a doctor say it was a career ending injury?

Do the Blazers have a case against the doctor for his incorrect diagnosis?

[DaddyTorgo]

that's my point - if this actually wasn't a CEI then the blazers ought to have legal recourse against SOMEBODY

[Chief Rum]

To be fair, the only reason this scenario exists is because the league allowed the Blazers to declare Miles' injury to be career-ending, when it's obviously not. So they have about three strikes going against them by my count (the 3rd being that if he had no injury at all, he would still be on their cap for the full amount).

The way you word this suggests the league cut the Blazers a break to do this. That's not the case. There were specific rules put in the CBA to handle this situation.

If an independent doctor determines that the injury is a CEI (and it may take more than one doctor, not sure), then the Blazers can apply for the cap relief, which they were eligible for under the CBA. That eligibility comes with the condition being tested here, that should Miles play in 10 games within the next NBA season, that contract comes back into play.

So it wasn't like some sort of deal was worked out between the league and the Blazers, wink, wink, and just declare it a CEI.

Kudos to Miles for perservering and overcoming his injury.

[Logan]

You're right, I didn't really mean it like that...more like if he were never injured in the first place, he would be counting on their cap anyway (and would be yet another guy who has more value for his expiring contract a year from now than his actual on court play). It's not like something happened that automatically triggered a 2 year, $18 million extension that they did not originally agree to. That's where I come back to them not having anyone to blame but themselves.

I don't see what claim they would have against a doctor for an incorrect diagnosis. What would they have been able to do differently? He would just sit on their bench and rot if he was 100% healthy, or play poorly.

[miami_fan]

I suppose this takes all thoughts of one of the TB's rivals trying to purposely hurt the franchise away. Memphis is going nowhere and will have no impact on the Western Conference whatsoever for at least the next handful of seasons.

And that is the funniest thing to me about the whole situation. It is all about "screwing the Blazers" as opposed to whether or not signing Miles will better the Grizzlies or not.

[MylesKnight]

The Blazers tried to sign D. Miles last week...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnaPCeeEk.bxFvZ1187sx305nYcB?slug=aw-milesupdate011209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns